


Rising Action

by calenlily



Series: Bronze Rider Kylara AU [2]
Category: Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Characters, F/M, Lessa has a type and that type is arrogant bastards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:54:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21593410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calenlily/pseuds/calenlily
Summary: In the wake of Ramoth’s first mating flight, relationships are re-evaluated.
Relationships: F'lar | Fallarnon/Lessa, referenced Lessa/Kylara
Series: Bronze Rider Kylara AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1532024
Comments: 3
Kudos: 35





	Rising Action

After the mating flight, after the Lords’ rebellion is put down, after Lessa and Ramoth have proven their wings in view of the full Weyr - after everything calms, it’s just Lessa and F’lar alone together.

She considers the man who is now her Weyrleader. There’s a part of her that had hoped he would fail, if only for the satisfaction of seeing his arrogant certainty that all would fall in line with his plans foiled for once. It might have been nice to have a Weyrleader she could more easily influence, to have the latitude to arrange things to suit herself. On the whole, though, he is probably the best leader they could have, for the sake of the Weyr and for Pern at large. Certainly he’s made a good start of it, for she can’t help but approve of his decisive actions today against both the rebellious Holders and the naysayers of the Weyr. F’lar, once he decides to take action, is truly a force to be reckoned with.

On a more intimate level.... She has to admit, the mating flight had been everything Kylara led her to believe it would be, and it’s hard to forget the passion his touch had incited in her. She supposes she’s always been attracted to him to some degree - certainly she’s always been very aware of the physicality of him - and she finds she is not at all averse to the idea of bedding him again.

His personality, she has more reservations about: his smug, conceited manner and habit of keeping his own counsel she could do without, and his tendency to manhandle her still more so. It will be a long while before she forgives him for the highhanded way he shut her down at that last Council meeting. But he has never been dishonest with her, even if he’s often less than informative, and he treats her more like an equal than any of the other wingleaders. She likes the way he challenges her. She doesn’t like the way he gets under her skin so easily.

It’s time to see how they will deal with each other now.

“Queens can, too, fly,” she declares, testing him.

“Of course they can fly,” he responds graciously. “That’s why they have wings.”

She is heartened by the respect in his tone and how easily he accepts her assertion of independence and capability. His presumption in grabbing hold of her, on the other hand, is distinctly unwelcome. Irritably she pushes his hands from her shoulders and backs away a step.

“I see. You might have mentioned that earlier, when everyone was trying to tell us it was an impossibility,” she replies sweetly.

“What purpose would that have served? I needed to keep my head down until R’gul could be replaced, and you’d have done well to do the same.”

It’s not an apology, but she hardly expected one from him. It is at least a reason, and she can comprehend his line of thinking even if she doesn’t agree with it. She doesn’t appreciate his withholding information on the basis that he didn’t think she should act on it. Then again, she’d figured it out easily enough without his aid and she and Ramoth have been discreetly trying their wings for some time - and as  _ she _ has no intention of telling  _ him _ that, perhaps it’s prudent to give that subject a rest now.

When she does not contest his words, she can see self-assurance overtake wariness in F’lar’s manner. That air of smug confidence is all too familiar, though she is used to seeing it on a different face, and more of a turn-on than she likes to acknowledge. (For a moment she wonders despairingly whether all bronze riders are the same in that, before realizing just how much she does not want to know the answer to that question. Her current pool of reference is already two too many.)

She lets the silence stretch out, deliberately turning away from him to watch Ramoth settle on a large herdbeast. The queen’s color visibly improves as she feeds; Lessa is chagrined to recognize that she  _ had _ been reckless to let them get so lost in the thrill of open flight.

The dragon’s savage joy in rending flesh from bone recalls fierce pride to Lessa’s heart.  _ She _ is Weyrwoman, independent and unfettered. Unsettled though her emotions may be, she will not be easily mastered. Steadied by the thought, she turns unhurriedly to acknowledge the Weyrleader once more, ready for the next sally.

***

Once the dragons have finished their meal, he follows her up the steps and into the queen’s weyr.

“I wasn’t aware I’d given you an invitation,” she comments.

“My lady, it’s traditional that the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman are ... together,” he says delicately.

She snorts, unimpressed by both the appeal to tradition and his sudden turn toward euphemism. “You mean to say, for enduring the burdens of command, you expect to take your payment in my bed.”

His expression remains determinedly affable, but he lets out a frustrated breath. “I mean to say, it’s important that we present a united front, to the Weyr and to Pern.”

“Let me make one thing clear, bronze rider. Your dragon may have won mine, but that doesn’t make me your woman. I’m neither your subordinate to be ordered around, nor a trophy to be won,” she tells him firmly. She holds his gaze, unyielding, until he nods in acknowledgment, and only then does she continue. “However....” Lessa flicks her hair back from her shoulders in the way she’s seen Kylara do so many times, and smiles slowly. “If you truly believe it’s for the best for us to be weyrmates, you’re welcome to try to convince me.”

F’lar, she soon discovers, can be  _ very _ convincing.

***

The mating flight is over, and Kylara and Pridith have not won the queen. Benden’s sole female bronze rider is not unduly put out by this failure; she knows it was a long shot. They are young yet, still growing towards their prime; there is always next time (and next time, and next time)....

In the meantime, there are other ways to seek status and maintain relevance. She has a few cards up her sleeve.

**Author's Note:**

> A short installment with not a lot of Kylara, but important set-up for future events. Everything is about to get a lot messier...
> 
> Thanks to [Para](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Para) for the beta.


End file.
